In June 1962 Henry Ford II officially withdrew Ford Motor Company from the 1957 Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) agreement with General Motors and Chrysler to not support organized racing efforts. The move was an important one, allowing Ford to publicly back motorsports and capitalize on their cars’ successes. Ford poured millions into development in an effort to become the performance brand. The support was evident from the drag strip, to NASCAR, and even Le Mans. The Ford Total Performance Era, as it known, led to the likes of Carroll Shelby, Holman Moody, and Alan Mann becoming household names, and dealerships such as Tasca Ford and Galpin Ford becoming synonymous with the word performance.

By 1963, Ford was well on its way to becoming the high-performance motor king both on the track and in the showroom, with its legendary 425-horsepower, 427-cubic inch big-block V-8 with dual four-barrel carburetors available in its Galaxies and Fairlanes. Of the cars fitted with the new powerplant, it was Ford’s full size Galaxie 500 XL that stole the show. Appearing as a 1963½ “R-Code” model, the 500 XL was based on Ford’s newest NASCAR efforts and proved to be an instant sales success. A customer could go to a Ford dealership and spec out their new Ford to nearly a NASCAR level of performance. The legendary R-Code Galaxie would be offered into the 1964 model year, the final year of second-generation Galaxie production.

This 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL “R-Code” has benefitted from a meticulous restoration by Don Allen, exhibiting the correct markings throughout and an undercarriage that has been detailed as well as the car’s exterior. The Galaxie is finished in Raven Black over a Red interior—just as it left the factory, according to its door tag. Exterior features on the car include dual sideview mirrors and rear fender skirts. The car rides on thin whitewall tires mounted on steel wheels with factory “spinner” wheel covers. The Galaxie is powered by the legendary R-Code 425-horsepower, 427-cubic-inch cross-bolt-main V-8 engine equipped with two four-barrel Holley carburetors, cast iron headers, and a Perma-Tuned transistorized ignition system. The engine is backed by a four-speed manual transmission which sends power to a 3.50:1 rear axle. The interior is equipped with bucket seats separated by a console, a push-button radio with rear speaker, and a dash clock.

Since completion of the restoration the Galaxie has been driven very sparingly, having covered just 136 miles at time of cataloguing. This Galaxie was awarded an AACA Senior award in 2007 and in 2008 it received the coveted AACA Grand National Prize award, scoring an impressive 100 out of 100 points—a true testament to the meticulous, high-quality restoration the car has received.